RELEVANCE OF MERCY PETITION

RELEVANCE OF MERCY PETITION
Law is blind ; it does not bother to find out the human being who perpetrated the crime.
The person involved may be the only son of the parents or he may be the bread winner , on whom the family depends for survival. I remember a case in which an eminent Doctor was convicted for murder of his wife. He was given the benefit of life imprisonment by the Governor , because of his utility for the public.
In almost all cases , the mercy petition is considered by the Governor or the President on ‘political ‘ considerations. This is the purpose of this power granted to them.
If a Hindu was involved , will the President refuse mercy?
When the first Communist Government assumed power in Keralam , in 1957 , all those Party workers undergoing life imprisonment , were let off.
So mercy petitions should not be rejected

SCARE AWAY STRAY DOGS

SCARE AWAY STRAY DOGS
Stray dog menace is really a problem in the villages. Some five dogs are always seen here in Chathakudam East End. Two of them have chosen our terrace as their home.
Many people keep coloured water in transparent bottles in the entrance to their homes . The sight of the coloured water is said to scare these animals.

THE MONTH ENDS TOMORROW

THE MONTH ENDS TOMORROW
We like to forget this month because my wife fell ill . Mercifully , she has recovered now. My granddaughter Meghna comes today , to visit her . She is studying architecture in Bangalore and is half way through.
Before building this house , I never bothered about pension. I felt that I am rich. We used to hire a taxi car ; now , I wait for half an hour for our bus to Chathakudam.
I have no idea how much we spent this month. My daughters managed everything. Three lakhs was the fee for operation of wife’s stomach . Other expenses extra.
At the time of retirement , balance in my Provident Fund was Ra. 400 only. I used to say to my friends :”My daughters are my assets. (at that time , we had no house)”
Yes, they helped in building this house too.

LET YAKUB MEMON BE THE LAST –NO MORE DEATH PENALTY PLEASE

LET YAKUB MEMON BE THE LAST –NO MORE DEATH PENALTY PLEASE
Death penalty is a relic of the medieval past. People were unsympathetic and vengeful. Modern trend is to understand human behavior and understand the circumstances leading to murder.
Murderer is not afraid of death. These days there are contract killers. People contact these quotation people to get their ‘enemy’ liquidated. Angry husband kill his wife’s lover. Let the court convict such people for life imprisonment. It is much more bitter than sudden death by hanging.
Yakub’s agony is over.
Ironically , another Muslim , Dr. Abdul Kalam , a venerated scientist , is also cremated the same day.

SNAPS FROM MY LIFE-cheek cut open before my eyes

SNAPS FROM MY LIFE-cheek cut open before my eyes
I was in Delhi , travelling in DTC bus. I was sitting near the front seat.
A man came hurriedly from behind and slit open the cheek of a tall person.
Within seconds the fellow got down , as the horrified driver stopped the bus.
The affected man also got down , holding his cheek with one hand. The travelers were saying , it is old rivalry

TEMPLE OF PARASHURAM

TEMPLE OF PARASHURAM
According to legend , it was Parashuram , who cleared the forests (his weapon is the axe) and reclaimed the land of Keralam. There is only one temple in Thiruvananthapuram where the Deity of this hero is installed. Every year in Thulam month , there is a festival here with two caparisoned elephants and beating of drums . (normally the number of elephants is odd)
Parashuram’s father suspected his wife Renuka, of infidelity and ordered his son to cut off her head. After faithfully complying with his orders , the father asked the son for a boon. He said:”Give me back my mother.”
So Renuka became alive and Parashuram brought her to the new land of Keralam.
The heroic fighter was the bitter enemy of Kshthriyas who ruled the countries of North India. (ironically , the two factions of the Indian National Congress , were led by Kamalapathy Tripathy (a Brahmin) and Gupta (a Kshatriya) .
Similarly , Ravan was a Brahman and Ram a Kshathriya.
Parashuram defeated Kshathiyas eighteen times in war . He had the Pashupthasthram , gifted by Lord Shiva.

LAST DAYS OF THE MONTH

Common people are penniless, these last few days.
In my youth , I used to borrow money , though I was working as a UD clerk. This was because both my wife and myself , did not know how to run a house hold. I had to send money to my unemployed brother in Keralam. I used to take all sorts of advances, Like Festival advance . As soon as one advance is recovered , there will be another festival. Mercifully , I never had account in the grocery shop; all purchases were paid, down cash.
Things improved when I got promotion .
So, what I was going to say is , that I avoid going to sell books in houses , during these days.
Today I went to Trichur Railway Station . Travelers are never short of money. I was lucky to sell some seven books!

EARLY MORNING TERROR ATTACK JOLTS MODI

EARLY MORNING TERROR ATTACK JOLTS MODI
In the early morning hours , Pakistani terrorists crossed the border in Panjab and reached Gurudaspur , only 35 kilometres from the border.
They planted bombs in the railway track , which was detected before explosion. Then they attacked a Police Station , killed the policemen and carried away weapons. By then the army reached and engaged them for twelve ours . One or two must have escaped . In all some ten terrorists are believed to be in the team.
Border skirmishes have been going on during the last one month in the Chamb sector; so attacks are expected. The border in Panjab is fenced and guarded by Border Security Force . Anyone can cross it . In the morning hours , the jawans must be sleeping.
Like in Kashmir , here too , the army must guard the line . Even then, terrorists can sneak in. Rajnath Singh , and Arun Jaitely , the Ministers concerned have been talking about ‘befitting reply’. Good sleep may be befitting in the circumstances .
Will Narendra Modi wake up and attack Karachi Port?

SNAPS FROM MY LIFE-baby boy scared a big cat

SNAPS FROM MY LIFE-baby boy scared a big cat
When we were in Rajasthan Atomic Power Project , our neighbor had a baby moving on hands and legs. It was quite big , black and strong. Seeing it coming towards himself , a big cat got scared and backed out and ran away!

ONE TIME PAYMENT OF HOUSE TAX

ONE TIME PAYMENT OF HOUSE TAX
We live in our own home . The Panchayath levies a tax for this house which is nominal.
On 25th of July , I was summoned to Taluk office at Trichur to appear with documents of this house , like approved plan , possession certificate etc. There , I was asked to fill in a form. The supervisor did not even look at the certificates. He told me that I should pay a one time tax of Rs 2700 to the Panchayath.
Why should I pay this extra tax? What will they do , if I do not pay? Can they evict me from my own house , which I built without any help from the Panchayath? I like to go to the Court ,if they harass me.